EI premiums to fall in 2020 for workers and employers

Minister of Finance Bill Morneau and Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance Mona Fortier make an announcement on lowering taxes for the middle class in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

Canadian workers and employers will enjoy a slight decrease in employment insurance premiums in the new year, resulting in about $1.1 billion in total reductions in 2020.

Starting on Jan. 1, the premium for individual workers will be $1.58 per $100 of insurable earnings while their employers will pay $2.21 per $100 of the workers’ insurable earnings.

Employment and Social Development Canada, which administers the program, says that’s a decrease of four cents per $100 for workers and six cents per $100 for employers compared with the 2019 rates.

The annual EI adjustments also include an $1,100 increase in the maximum insurable earnings, which will be $54,200 in 2020.

As a result of adjustments, the maximum annual EI contribution for a worker will fall by $3.86 to $856.36 and employers’ maximum contribution will fall $5.41 to $1,198.90 per employee.

For self-employed Canadians who have opted into the EI program, the annual earnings required in 2019 will increase to $7,279 for claims filed in 2020.

In a fiscal update issued Dec. 16, the finance department signalled that EI premiums will decrease further in 2021 to $1.55 per $100 of insurable earnings, causing a proportionate decline in what employers pay, which is 1.4 times the individual rate.